Herald fills key sports, news posts

Published 11:09 am, Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Plainview Herald today announces the promotion of Homer Marquez to news editor and the addition of Skip Leon as sports editor.

Marquez joined the Herald as sports editor in June 2012 and Leon joins the staff after serving as sports editor at The Hereford Brand since 2003.

“These are two proven performers who will be great assets to both the Herald and the community,” said Herald Editor Doug McDonough.

“In the short time he has been here, Homer has been able to expand our sports coverage throughout the area while doing a truly fantastic job covering the Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs, Eagles, Lady Eagles, Pioneers and Queens,” McDonough said. “And now we want to utilize his vast talents in additional ways, while still relying on him to further bolster our sports coverage within the area.”

Concerning Leon, McDonough said the veteran sports writer and photographer already is familiar with many of the coaches and teams in the area, having followed the rival Hereford Whitefaces for the past 10 years.

“In the short time Skip has been on staff, he has really shown himself to be a self-starter and a very talented writer,” McDonough said. “Through the years he has received numerous awards from the Panhandle Press Association and other organizations for both writing and photography, and the Herald is very fortunate to have been in a position to add him to our staff.”

Before joining the Herald, Marquez served as editor of the Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon for more than two years. Marquez is a Plainview native, member of the Plainview High School Class of 2002 and a 2008 graduate of South Plains College. His wife Sara is a PISD teacher at Thunderbird Elementary. The couple has one child, Sebastian, 2.

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” said Marquez. “I think Mr. Leon is a great writer with a lot of experience, and I will be able to back him while still providing hard news stories. I think our paper is adapting to changes in our production process, and I feel as an editorial staff we are taking the right steps to becoming a more efficient team, which in turn will greatly strengthen our coverage.”

Leon is a native of New York state and a graduate of the University of Dayton (Ohio). He has three grown stepchildren with his wife Rachel.

Leon has a background in education and journalism, including stints covering sports at the Laredo Morning Times as well as newspapers in New York, Pennsylvania and Kansas.

“I look forward to writing about the young athletes at Plainview High and Plainview Christian Academy as well as those at our area schools,” he said.

The Herald also announces the upcoming departure of Shanna Sissom Iverson, who is returning to Midland next month after serving as managing editor since June 2012.